On August 28th, 2024, at 10:40 P.M., the Stearns County Emergency Communications Center received a call of a residential structure fire at 25 Highway 4 South in Meire Grove. The initial report was that the house was fully engulfed in flames.
One of the residents, Dunia Isabel Cuadra-Lopez, 30, was sleeping inside, along with her two children. She stated she woke up to the smoke alarms going off and found an active flame near the rear side of the house. Everyone was able to exit the house safely. Responding fire departments arrived on scene and were able to extinguish the fire. The interior and exterior of the house sustained significant damage. Red Cross was contacted to assist in providing the family with services.
The cause of the fire is unknown and still under investigation. Melrose Police Department, Melrose Fire Department, Melrose Ambulance, Freeport Fire Department, Minnesota State Patrol and a State Fire Marshall investigator all assisted with this incident.